HT204452: About the OS X Mavericks v10.9.4 Update

Learn about About the OS X Mavericks v10.9.4 Update
vburger
Level 1 (6 points)

Q: What to consider BEFORE an OSX reinstall?

My iMac (late 2009; 4GB memory, OS X 10.9.4) quite often seems to be slower than it used to be. I assume that one of the reasons for this slowness is that over the years whenever I updated the OS X (from OS X 10.4 or so) or got a new computer, I always took over the settings from earlier versions. Hence I thought a totally fresh re-installation of OS X (Maverick) would possibly speed things up again.

 

Is this assumption correct?   And if correct, what issues do I have to consider such that I do not loose my data (which i backup through TimeMachine and much of it is in the cloud).

 

Or are there other methods to get back to "old speeds"?  

 

Thanks in advance for your advice. Cheers, Veit

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3), iPhone 4S with iOS7

Posted on Jul 24, 2014 8:35 AM

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vburger

Q: What to consider BEFORE an OSX reinstall?

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Jul 24, 2014 8:40 AM in response to vburger
    Level 10 (122,467 points)
    Apple Music
    Jul 24, 2014 8:40 AM in response to vburger

    Just reinsatlling OS X isn't always the solution for issues with your Mac slowing down.



    Not enough free storage space can slow your Mac down.

     

    Click your Apple menu icon top left in your screen. From the drop down menu click About This Mac > More Info > Storage. Make sure there's at least 15% free disk space.

     

    Repair permissions.

     

    Launch Disk Utility located in your Applications > Utilities folder.

     

    Select the startup disk on the left then select the First Aid tab.

     

    Click:   Repair Disk Permissions

     

    This can take awhile so don't be alarmed.

     

    Restart your Mac after Disk Utility is finished

     

    Reindex Spotlight >  Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

     

     

    Check to see if the startup disk needs repairing.

     

    Launch Disk Utility located in HD > Applications > Utillities

     

    Select the startup disk on the left then select the First Aid tab.

     

    Click:  Verify Disk  (not Verify Disk Permissions)

     

    If DU reports errors, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys. From there you should be able to access the built in utilities in OS X Recovery to repair the startup disk.

     

    Make sure to back up all important data first before using OS X Recovery.

     

     

    Anti virus software, as well as third party Mac cleaning utilities such as MacKeeper  and CleanMyMac can also slow your Mac down.

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 Jul 24, 2014 8:44 AM in response to vburger
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 8:44 AM in response to vburger

    4gb of RAM is not really enough for OS X 10.9.4 together with a few applications running to run efficiently. I suspect you would see a considerable improvement in performance by adding more RAM. It's vital that the correct modules are installed - Macs can be very picky it the chips are out of spec. Good places to buy are Macsales and Crucial. They both guarantee their RAM will work and are well-trusted on here for excellent after sales service:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac

    http://www.crucial.com

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jul 24, 2014 9:22 AM in response to vburger
    Level 10 (141,294 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 9:22 AM in response to vburger

    Do you have any antivirus software installed or have used cleaning or optimizing software like MacKeeper or CleanMyMac?  If so then that's probably the reason for your lack of performance, on the computer I mean. 

     

    Download and run Etrecheck.  Copy and paste the results into your next post. It's a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC.

    OTsig.png

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Jul 24, 2014 9:46 AM in response to vburger
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 9:46 AM in response to vburger

    It's not really about the settings that might have been carried over from older systems, it's about the software. Most likely, you have carried over old apps from your older systems, and some of those may not be very compatible with Mavericks... or may be altogether junk.

     

    Also, note that you should not go out and buy more RAM just yet. Use Activity Monitor to keep an eye on your RAM usage. Don't worry if your RAM is full - that's normal. However, if the memory pressure graph goes up, and goes from green to yellow or red, then you're having low memory issues.

     

    For more details, see my Mac Performance Guide.

     

    If you decide that erasing and reinstalling the system is going to be the easiest way to clean up your system, be sure to have at least two completely separate backups, preferably made with two separate backup programs, before you start.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 2:15 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 2:15 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thank you all for your very positive responses, am now busy to read the references and advice and to run the suggested tests. Will report back on these. Thanks in the meantime.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 2:16 PM in response to Paul_31
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 2:16 PM in response to Paul_31

    Thank you all for your very positive responses, am now busy to read the references and advice and to run the suggested tests. Will report back on these. Thanks in the meantime.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 2:25 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 2:25 PM in response to Old Toad

    T's great to see you around, Old Toad, a trusted "helper" for many years!

     

    Yes, I have Sophos Anti-Virus installed;   I do NOT have MacKeeper and CleanMyMac (been warned against them).

     

    There are three items in the EtreCheck diagnostics below, other than DynSysUpdater, which I do NOT recognize and which do NOT show up under SystemPreferences > User > LoginItems (hence I would not know how to delete them).

     

    Here are the diagnostics:

    QUOTE

    EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

    Report generated 24 Juli 2014, Donnerstag 22:43:01 MESZ

     

    Hardware Information:

      iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) (Verified)

      iMac - model: iMac10,1

      1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

      4 GB RAM

     

    Video Information:

      ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

      iMac 1920 x 1080

     

    System Software:

      OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 0 days 0:52:22

     

    Disk Information:

      ST31000528AS disk0 : (1 TB)

      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB

      VB Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999,35 GB (204,13 GB free)

      Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

     

      HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GA11N 

     

    USB Information:

      Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

      Western Digital Ext HDD 1021 2 TB

      VB WD-HD 2TB (disk1s1) /Volumes/VB WD-HD 2TB: 2 TB (21,85 GB free)

      Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

      Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

      Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

     

    Gatekeeper:

      Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions:

      [loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6) Support

      [not loaded] com.ZTE.driver.ZTEUSBCDCACMData (1.3.2) Support

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchAfaTech (1.1) Support

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchCinergy450 (1.1) Support

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchCinergyXS (1.1) Support

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchEmpia (1.1) Support

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchVoyager (1.1) Support

      [not loaded] com.markspace.iokit.IOMissingSyncMassStorage (199) Support

      [not loaded] com.markspace.missingsync.palmos.classicseize (1) Support

      [loaded] com.sophos.kext.sav (9.0.61 - SDK 10.7) Support

      [loaded] com.sophos.nke.swi (9.0.53 - SDK 10.8) Support

      [loaded] com.squirrels.airparrot.framebuffer (3 - SDK 10.8) Support

      [loaded] com.squirrels.driver.AirParrotSpeakers (1.8 - SDK 10.8) Support

      [not loaded] com.tomtom.driver.UsbEthernetGadget (1.0.0d1) Support

     

    Startup Items:

      DynDNSUpdater: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DynDNSUpdater

      HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

      HP Trap Monitor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

      MissingSyncMounting: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MissingSyncMounting

     

    Launch Daemons:

      [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

      [running] com.elgato.EyeConnect.plist Support

      [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support

      [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support

      [loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support

      [not loaded] com.robohippo.HippoConnectDaemon.plist Support

      [loaded] com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.autoupdate.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.configuration.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.intercheck.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.notification.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.scan.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.sxld.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.webd.plist Support

      [loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist Support

      [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist Support

     

    Launch Agents:

      [running] com.brother.LOGINserver.plist Support

      [not loaded] com.cooliris.SetLaunchArch.plist Support

      [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

      [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support

      [running] com.robohippo.HippoConnectAgent.plist Support

      [running] com.sophos.uiserver.plist Support

      [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist Support

      [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist Support

     

    User Launch Agents:

      [not loaded] 3DataManager

      [running] ca.indev.MailTagsHelper.agent.plist Support

      [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support

      [running] com.ecamm.printopia.plist Support

      [failed] WebToGo.BOB-100.plist Support

      [running] ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist Support

     

    User Login Items:

      FreeSpace

      HardwareGrowler

      Skype

      iTunes

      Dropbox

      iAntiVirus

     

    Internet Plug-ins:

      Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 Support

      Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

      Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16   - SDK 10.8 Support

      CoolirisWebKitPlugin: Version: (null) Support

      Loki: Version: 3.4.2.20 Support

      AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

      OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support

      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

      Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

      iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

      AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

      CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.1.0.2 Support

      GoogleOneClickPluginDeluxe: Version: 1.0 Support

      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 65 Check version

     

    Safari Extensions:

      Save to Pocket: Version: 1.9.1

      Evernote Web Clipper: Version: 6.1.3

      Clip to DEVONthink: Version: 1.2.1

      Ghostery: Version: 5.3.0

      Awesome Screenshot: Version: 1.4.3

      1Password: Version: 3.9.20

      SafariKeywordSearch: Version: 2.2.5

      AdBlock: Version: 2.7.8

     

    Audio Plug-ins:

      BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

      AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

      AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

      iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

     

    iTunes Plug-ins:

      Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

     

    User Internet Plug-ins:

      Picasa: Version: 1.0 Support

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes:

      Flash Player  Support

      Flip4Mac WMV  Support

      FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  Support

      Growl  Support

      Java  Support

      MacFUSE  Support

      Perian  Support

      Printopia  Support

     

    Time Machine:

      Skip System Files: NO

      Mobile backups: OFF

      Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

      Volumes being backed up:

      VB Macintosh HD: Disk size: 930.71 GB Disk used: 740.60 GB

      Destinations:

      VB WD-HD 2TB [Local] (Last used)

      Total size: 2 

      Total number of backups: 14

      Oldest backup: 2013-02-21 12:14:36 +0000

      Last backup: 2014-06-26 09:43:15 +0000

      Size of backup disk: Too small

      Backup size 2  < (Disk used 740.60 GB X 3)

      VB Proworx 3TB [Local]

      Total size: 3 

      Total number of backups: 2

      Oldest backup: 2014-06-28 21:02:21 +0000

      Last backup: 2014-06-29 08:01:15 +0000

      Size of backup disk: Excellent

      Backup size 3  > (Disk size 930.71 GB X 3)

      Time Machine details may not be accurate.

      All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

     

    Top Processes by CPU:

          4% backupd

          2% WindowServer

          1% iPhoto

          0% mds

          0% FreeSpace

     

    Top Processes by Memory:

      156 MB Safari

      139 MB SophosScanD

      135 MB iPhoto

      119 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

      98 MB backupd

     

    Virtual Memory Information:

      47 MB Free RAM

      1.37 GB Active RAM

      1.34 GB Inactive RAM

      625 MB Wired RAM

      1.47 GB Page-ins

      115 MB Page-outs

    UNQUOTE

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jul 24, 2014 2:35 PM in response to vburger
    Level 10 (141,294 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 2:35 PM in response to vburger

    I would remove Sophos as it's just not needed and is know to slow down Macs as witnessed by the many posts to that effect.

     

    I looked up DynSysUpdater and I don't know what it is either.  Someone else might pop in and help there.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Old Toad

    Thanks!

     

    I will remove Sophos AntiVirus, as well as iAntiVirus

     

    Sorry for the misspelling: it is DynDNSUpdater (a utility to keep a fixed URL in sync with a changing DNS number (or some such thing)), but I don't need that anymore.

     

    How do I remove the 4 items in the

    Startup Items:

      DynDNSUpdater: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DynDNSUpdater

      HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

      HP Trap Monitor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

      MissingSyncMounting: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MissingSyncMounting

    Should I just delete them in the indicated path???

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jul 24, 2014 3:10 PM in response to vburger
    Level 10 (141,294 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 3:10 PM in response to vburger

    See if there's an uninstaller for those items from the developer's site.  Or you can download and run Find Any File to search for  files with "DynDNSUpdater", "HP IO", HP Trap Monitor" and "MissingSync Mounting " in the file name. If you know the name of the developer search for files with that name also and see if they relate to those items.  Once found the files can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop for deletion.

     

    It would be best to use an uninstaller provided by the developer if there is one. 

     

    FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages. If there's a library hiding somewhere on your hard drive FAF will find it.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 3:14 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 3:14 PM in response to Old Toad

    Do I need a specific Uninstaller for each of these, or is it enough if I delete each item in the StartUpItems folder? (Sorry for the ignorance).

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jul 24, 2014 3:16 PM in response to vburger
    Level 10 (141,294 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 24, 2014 3:16 PM in response to vburger

    You should use a specific uninstalled if they are available.  There may be multiple files in various locations that need to be removed in addition to those in the StartupItems folder.

  • by vburger,

    vburger vburger Jul 24, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Jul 24, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Old Toad

    Thanks for this important clarification.

     

    This begs the question: would a complete reinstallation of the OSX, followed by a re-installation of those additional applications which I acquired over time, and recognize that I need them, be a "cleaner" solution by getting rid (or rather not installing) these by now unnecessary files?   Which, by the way, is indeed the easiest way to find out what kind of programs/apps one has installed over time in addition to the original OSX. The Applications folder, alas, mixes original OSX files with user installed applications, and there are many applications where it is not clear whether they are part of the necessary operating system. Any pointers there?

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